Top 9 Investment Opportunities for Accredited Investors

The investing landscape has broadened in the last five years.

Many investments that used to be reserved for the top 1% — like private credit, private equity, real estate funds, and high-end art — are now also available to accredited investors.

While stocks and bonds will likely continue to make up the bulk of your portfolio, adding just one or two of these alternative assets can greatly increase your portfolio's diversification and may improve its returns.

You qualify as an accredited investor if you:

• Earn more per year than $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly.
• Have a net worth that exceeds $1,000,000, excluding your primary residence.
• Are a qualifying financial professional.

To register as an accredited investor, simply create an account with the platform you'd like to invest on. After your account is created, the platform will reach out to verify your accreditation status.

Wondering where to start?

Whether you're looking to decrease your volatility, increase your income, or boost your returns, here are the 9 best investment opportunities for accredited investors in 2025.

Summary of the best investment platforms for accredited investors

Platform	Our rating	Asset(s)	Risk-reward*	Minimum investment	Accreditation status
Percent		Private credit	Low-medium	$500	Accredited only
Yieldstreet		Real estate, art, private credit & more	Medium-high	$10,000	Primarily accredited
Hiive		Private companies	High	$25,000	Accredited only
EquityMultiple		Commercial real estate	Medium-high	$5,000	Accredited only
Arrived		Single-family homes	Medium-high	$100	Any investor
CrowdStreet		Commercial real estate	Medium-high	$25,000	Accredited only
Masterworks		Art	Medium-high	$15,000	Any investor
RealtyMogul		Commercial, multifamily, and single-family real estate	Medium-high	$5,000	Primarily accredited
AcreTrader		Farmland	Low-medium	$15,000	Accredited only

Disclaimer: Based on the assumption that the higher the risk, the higher the reward. Ratings are my opinion. Actual results may vary. All investors should do their own due diligence.

Keep reading for detailed breakdowns of each platform listed above.

1. Percent: Invest in private credit

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Private credit
• Risk-reward*: Low-medium
• Minimum investment: $500
• Accreditation requirement: Accredited only
  

Percent gives you access to the $3.14 trillion private credit market, a market that was formerly only available to institutional investors.

The private credit market is made up of private companies — typically with revenue between $10 million and $1 billion — that can't issue debt in the public markets but are too big to receive loans from regular banks.

These companies must turn to the private credit market to finance their operations and growth.

Since the money is harder to come by, these companies offer much better terms to receive financing. Private credit deals typically entail (according to data from Percent):

1. High yields (> 13%)
2. Low default rates (< 3%)
3. Short durations (~10 months)
4. Returns that are largely uncorrelated with public markets and low default rates (< 3%)

There's a lot to like about private credit, especially for high-net-worth and income-seeking investors, which is why it ranks #1 on our list of how to generate 10% returns.

Here's how it stacks up against other asset classes:

Image source: Percent

New investors can use any of our links and receive a welcome bonus of up to $500 when making their first investment.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $1.41+ billion
• Number of investors: Not disclosed
• Primary benefit: Largest inventory of private credit deals

Invest with Percent

2. Yieldstreet: Real estate, art, private credit, & more

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Real estate, art, private credit, cryptocurrencies, venture capital (VC), private equity, structured notes, transportation infrastructure, legal finance, and a multi-asset class fund
• Risk-reward*: Medium-high
• Minimum investment: $10,000
• Accreditation requirement: Primarily accredited

Yieldstreet gives accredited investors access to 11 alternative asset classes, making it the leading platform for private market investing.

Since 2015, Yieldstreet has distributed more than $3.3 billion to investors and has averaged 9.6% net annualized returns. For reference, a 60/40 stock/bond portfolio returned just 6.5% annualized over the same period.

One of the primary benefits of investing in private markets is that they often outperform by the widest margins during public market downturns.

Image source: Yieldstreet

By mixing in a few alternative investments with a traditional stock/bond portfolio, investors may experience less volatility and improve their returns.

On Yieldstreet, you can filter investments by asset class, term length, investment strategy, minimum investment amount, IRA eligibility, and more.

Each investment on the platform is analyzed by Yieldstreet's team of 25+ analysts and seasoned portfolio managers.

If you're not exactly sure what assets you want to invest in, the Yieldstreet Alternative Income Fund is a popular choice.

The fund invests across multiple asset classes and is professionally managed, so you get all the benefits of private market diversification without all the work.

Plus, the fund is available to all investors (not just accredited investors), pays quarterly dividends, and has a minimum investment of just $10,000.

If what you're looking for is diversification outside of public markets, Yieldstreet is for you.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $6+ billion
• Number of investors: 500,000+
• Primary benefit: More private market asset classes than any other platform

Invest with Yieldstreet

3. Hiive: Buy shares of private companies

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Private companies
• Risk-reward*: High
• Minimum investment: $25,000
• Accreditation requirement: Accredited only

Hiive is the best platform for investing in pre-IPO companies.

The platform gives you exclusive access to 2,000+ VC-backed startups, including Databricks, Stripe, SpaceX, ByteDance, Anthropic, and more.

Image source: Hiive

In total, more than $100 million in transaction volume is conducted on Hiive each month.

Hiive functions similar to a marketplace or exchange.

• Existing shareholders (who may be employees, venture capital firms, or angel investors) can create their own listings by setting their asking price and quantity of shares available.
• Buyers can accept a seller's asking price as listed or place a bid and negotiate directly with a seller.
• Once a buyer and seller agree on a price, Hiive helps facilitate the transaction and transfer the shares.

After creating an account, you can see the complete set of active bids, asks, recent transactions, and current valuations for every company on the platform.

As venture capitalists and startup founders know, the real money is often made before a company's IPO, not after. Now, you can join the VCs by investing in many of the world's hottest startups (like Canva) right alongside them.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: Not disclosed
• Number of investors: 50,000+
• Primary benefit: Invest in private, VC-backed companies

Invest with Hiive

4. EquityMultiple: Commercial real estate projects

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Commercial real estate projects
• Risk-reward*: Medium-high
• Minimum investment: $5,000
• Accreditation requirement: Accredited only

EquityMultiple is a crowdfunding real estate platform focused on commercial real estate projects.

Commercial real estate has one of the best risk-adjusted-return profiles of any asset class:

Image source: EquityMultiple

EquityMultiple analyzes deals and, once a deal is approved**, lists it on its platform. Once listed, accredited investors can look the deal and decide if they want to participate.

**Just 5% of deals the team evaluates are approved.

The primary benefit of EquityMultiple over other commercial real estate platforms (like CrowdStreet, #6) is that, in addition to its equity and fund investments, it also offers short-term notes and debt, which provide regular income for investors.

In total, EquityMultiple has returned more than $478 million in distributions to investors.

Additionally, EquityMultiple offers a much lower minimum investment than CrowdStreet ($5,000 vs $25,000).

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $1+ billion
• Number of investors: Not disclosed
• Primary benefit: Invest in commercial real estate via short-term debt, equity, and funds

Invest with EquityMultiple

5. Arrived: Own single-family rentals

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Single-family homes
• Risk-reward*: Medium-high
• Minimum investment: $100
• Accreditation requirement: Any investor

While other crowdfunding real estate platforms primarily target accredited investors, Arrived targets a broader audience. Any investor can invest in real estate via Arrived.

Arrived is solely focused on buying and renting single-family homes, for both long-term and short-term (vacation) rental markets. Investors benefit from both rental income and price appreciation.

After purchasing a new property, the company will securitize and make shares available for purchase on its platform (similar to Masterworks, #7). Then, you sit back and collect your “rental income,” which comes in the form of dividends.

Arrived has paid out more than $13 million in dividends, including $2.07 million in Q1 2025 alone.

Image source: Arrived

Dividends vary by investment, but in Q1 2025 individual single family residential properties paid an average annualized dividend of 3.9%, while vacation rentals paid an average annualized dividend of 2.3%.

These figures do not include unrealized price appreciation.

For investors who don't want to hassle with analyzing and choosing between individual properties, Arrived also offers two funds: the Arrived Single Family Residential Fund and the Arrived Private Credit Fund.

The funds paid annualized dividends of 4% and 8.1%, respectively, in Q1 2025.

With Arrived, you can build an entire real estate portfolio on your computer or mobile device without ever leaving your couch.

Quick facts

• Property value funded since inception: $264+ million across 460 properties
• Number of investors: 759,000+
• Primary benefit: Build a real estate portfolio starting with just $100

Invest with Arrived

6. CrowdStreet: Commercial real estate properties

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Commercial real estate
• Risk-reward*: Medium-high
• Minimum investment: $25,000
• Accreditation requirement: Accredited only

CrowdStreet is one of the most established real estate crowdfunding platforms around. It connects investors to investment firms and developers.

Since its inception in 2014, CrowdStreet has funded more than 800 deals (216 of which have been sold) and has invested more than $4.4 billion.

These deals have spanned 17 property types — including hotels, apartment complexes, storage facilities, and industrial parks — in 45 states.

Each deal is reviewed by a team with more than 120 combined years of private real estate experience and $6.5 billion in transactional experience before it is listed on CrowdStreet's Marketplace.

Here are some examples:

Image source: CrowdStreet

Investors can choose to invest in individual deals, diversified funds, or a professionally managed portfolio specifically tailored to them. In total, the company's deals have generated a 12.2% realized internal rate of return (IRR).

As you can tell from its investment offerings and $25,000 minimum investment, CrowdStreet is only for investors serious about investing in commercial real estate.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $4.4+ billion
• Number of investors: 300,000+
• Primary benefit: The most-established and most-trusted platform for commercial real estate investing

Invest with CrowdStreet

7. Masterworks: Invest in shares of art

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Art
• Risk-reward*: Medium-high
• Minimum investment: $15,000
• Accreditation requirement: Any investor
  

Masterworks is the best way to invest in high-end art, one of the most time-tested assets on this list.

Why invest in art? Two reasons: price appreciation and stability.

Image source: Masterworks

That's why millionaires have been investing in art for years. It's rare, can appreciate, and has historically been inflation- and recession-proof. But art investing requires time, skill, and a lot of money.

At least, it used to.

Today, Masterworks's research team scours the world for artists and paintings and purchases only those with the most momentum.

After purchasing the art, the company securitizes it with the SEC, which allows its users to invest in individual shares.

Investors can sell their shares to other users on the platform, or wait until the Masterworks team sells the painting and the proceeds are distributed.

You can read our Masterworks Review for more details on this process.

Yes, you can invest in art on Yieldstreet, but if you're serious about art as an investment vehicle, then Masterworks (which has distributed over $61 million in proceeds back to its investors) is the obvious choice.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $1.2+ billion
• Number of investors: 985,000+
• Artworks purchased: 450
• Primary benefit: An unparalleled specialization in fine art investing

Invest with Masterworks

8. RealtyMogul: Invest in properties and REITs

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Commercial, multifamily, and single-family real estate
• Risk-reward*: Medium-high
• Minimum investment: $5,000
• Accreditation requirement: Primarily accredited

If you're looking for a platform that allows you to invest in both residential and commercial properties under one login, RealtyMogul is the best option.

Like CrowdStreet and EquityMultiple, RealtyMogul connects investors to developers (sponsors) and takes care of the initial due diligence process for you.

Its most common offerings are for individual real estate projects like industrial parks, mixed-use facilities, and residential developments. These projects have a $25,000 to $35,000 minimum investment.

That said, RealtyMogul makes this list because of its REITs. It offers two REITs, an Income REIT and a Growth REIT, which have $5,000 minimum investments and are available to all investors.

Image source: RealtyMogul

REITs are known for providing investors with stable cash flow (in the form of dividends, which are tax-efficient), liquidity, stability, and diversification.

For example, since the Income REIT's inception in 2016, it has distributed monthly dividends averaging 6% to 8% (net of fees) for 102 consecutive months.

REITs are a pain to set up and manage, which is why RealtyMogul is the only company on this list to offer them. REITs are most beneficial for retirees and high-net-worth individuals.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $1.2+ billion
• Number of investors: 300,000+
• Primary benefit: Private real estate investing via REITs

Invest with RealtyMogul

9. AcreTrader: Own farmland

• Our rating:
• Asset(s): Farmland
• Risk-reward*: Low-medium
• Minimum investment: $15,000
• Accreditation requirement: Accredited only

AcreTrader is the only crowdfunding platform that allows you to invest in farmland.

The demand for food will never go away. Regardless of inflation, economic conditions, or how the stock market is performing, we need food.

Couple that with a rapidly growing global population — which will require more food and more land — and farmland looks like a pretty compelling investment.

Unsurprisingly, its historical returns have only gone one direction (lagging REITs and the S&P 500 but with lower volatility):

Image source: AcreTrader

AcreTrader connects investors with farmers. Each new listing must pass a thorough due diligence process by the company's team of expert analysts, which only approves 5% of deals.

In a typical week, 1–2 new listings will become available to investors. The types of farms listed range from timber and alfalfa to soybeans and corn — if it's farmable, you can expect to see it on AcreTrader.

The target holding periods range from 5–10 years. During that period, the farmers pay rent to AcreTrader, who distributes it among the investors.

At the time of the sale, any price appreciation, pro rata rent, and principal is returned to investors. The median realized IRR has been around 15%.

Quick facts

• Assets invested since inception: $398+ million across 166 properties (39,600 total acres)
• Number of investors: Undisclosed
• Primary benefit: The only platform where you can invest in shares of farmland

Invest with AcreTrader

Price comparison

With many alternative investments, both direct and indirect fees must be considered.

Direct fees are paid by the investor and are typically disclosed in the offering documents. Indirect fees are less visible to the investor and include fees charged to the sponsor of the investment.

Some examples include property management fees, asset sale commissions, legal fees, and regulatory fees.

Indirect fees are netted out of the interest and dividends, or subtracted from the final sales price an investor would get upon the disposition of an asset.

Here's how these platform's fees compare:

Platform	Annual management fees	Other annual fees	Carry fees	Platform fees
Percent	1% on blended note products	-	10% of all interest payments	-
Yieldstreet	Most are between 1.5–2.5%; stated range is 1–4%	Varies by structure type, typically 0–0.5%	-	-
Hiive	-	-	-	Sellers are charged 5%
EquityMultiple	0% on short-term notes; typically 1% on direct investments and fund investments	$0–$250	-	-
Arrived	0.15% of purchase price on long-term rentals; 5% of gross revenue on vacation rentals.	-	-	3.5% on long-term rentals; 5% on vacation rentals
CrowdStreet	Sponsors bear costs on individual real estate deals; tailored portfolios are charged between 0.25–2.5%	-	-	-
Masterworks	1.50%	-	20% of profits once a painting sells	-
RealtyMogul	1–2%	-	-	1–2%
AcreTrader	0.75%	-	-	2% or less of offer value upon purchase; 5% upon sale paid by seller

What's an accredited investor?

An accredited investor is an individual classified by the SEC as being qualified to invest in complex or sophisticated financial products.

You can qualify as an accredited investor if you:

• Earn more than $200,000 (individually) or $300,000 (jointly) in income per year.
• Have a net worth of more than $1,000,000, excluding your primary residence.
• Are a qualifying financial professional.

The accredited investor rule was established to protect investors from unexpected losses due to misunderstanding investment risk.

Accredited investors — investors with large incomes and/or net worths — are considered by the SEC to be more savvy and more capable of withstanding the risks that come from investing in non-traditional assets.

How do you become an accredited investor?

To become an accredited investor, you must sign up for and register with a platform and prove to them you meet one of the above requirements.

For example, if you want to invest via Yieldstreet, you must create an account and wait for their support team to reach out to you to confirm you meet the requirements. After confirmation, you will be able to invest in the different offerings on its platform.

You must register and confirm your status as an accredited investor with each platform you want to invest on.

How we chose the best accredited investment opportunities

When evaluating investing products and services, we take the following into consideration:

• Core offering: How good is the platform and its offerings?
• Price and fees: Overall fees, value for money, industry comparison, etc.
• Usability: What the interface looks like, whether the site is easy to use and navigate, the inclusion of modern design elements and features, and accessibility.
• Credibility: Quality of investments and information, as well as company and brand reputation.
• Offers: Whether there is a special offer for signing up or any discounts.

Final verdict

It's a good time to be an accredited investor. Investments that used to be reserved for institutions and the ultra-wealthy are now available to you.

The first platform I recommend is Percent. Because of its high yields, low default rates, and short-term durations, Percent is an extremely popular option among high-net-worth and income-focused investors.

If you're looking for a way to diversify your portfolio outside of public markets, Yieldstreet is another great option. It has almost every alternative asset you may be interested in, in some form or another.

Outside of those two, my most recommended platforms are Hiive, Arrived, CrowdStreet, and Masterworks for their in-depth focus on their respective assets.

Between these six platforms and your brokerage account (for traditional investments), you can build an extremely sophisticated portfolio.